Lady Bird, Jan Jarboe Russell
Lady Bird, Jan Jarboe Russell
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Lady Bird
A Biography of Mrs. Johnson

Author: Jan Jarboe Russell

Narrator: Andrea Gallo

Unabridged: 16 hr

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Recorded Books

Published: 12/04/2015


Synopsis

A revealing biography of Lady Bird Johnson with startling new insights into her marriage to Lyndon Baines Johnson and her unexpectedly strong impact on his presidency. Long obscured by her husband's shadow, Claudia "Lady Bird" Johnson emerges in this first comprehensive biography as a figure of surprising influence and the centering force for LBJ, a man who suffered from extreme mood swings and desperately needed someone to help control his darker impulses. Expertly researched and written, Lady Bird draws from rare conversations with the former First Lady and from interviews with key members of Johnson's inner circle of friends, family, and advisers. With chapters such as "Motherless Child," "A Ten-Week Affair," and "LBJ's Midlife Crisis," Lady Bird sheds new light on Mrs. Johnson's childhood, on her amazing acumen as a businesswoman, and on the central role she played in her husband's life and political career. A vital link to the Kennedys during LBJ's uneasy tenure as vice president and a voice of conscience on civil rights, Lady Bird is portrayed here as a political force, strikingly different from the somewhat minor figure depicted in previous works on LBJ. Especially fascinating today, in light of the enormous attention now focused on the private lives of our leaders, are the personal details about her marriage to a man whose extramarital affairs were widely discussed. In this intimate portrait, Russell shows us the private Lady Bird -- not only a passionate conservationist but a remarkable woman who greatly influenced her husband, his administration, and the country.

About Jan Jarboe Russell

Jan Jarboe Russell is the author of the New York Times bestseller The Train to Crystal City: FDR’s Secret Prisoner Exchange Program and America’s Only Family Internment Camp During World War II, winner of the Texas Institute of Letters Prize for Best Book of Nonfiction. She is a Neiman Fellow, a contributing editor for Texas Monthly, and has written for the San Antonio Express-News, The New York Times, Slate, and other magazines. She also compiled and edited They Lived to Tell the Tale. She lives in San Antonio, Texas, with her husband, Dr. Lewis F. Russell, Jr.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Mandy

Jackie O gets a lot of attention but it is Lady Bird who deserves all the respect. She’s a fascinating woman. I had no idea how much she contributed to LBJs political life. I also didn’t know she owned her own radio and TV stations in Austin back in the 50s. She’s smart and complex and I love readin......more

Goodreads review by Jean

I read the Robert A. Caro biography series on Lyndon B. Johnson, Lady Bird was of course, mentioned in the book. I just completed reading “ Lady Bird: A Biography of Mrs. Johnson” by Jan Jarboe Russell and I am surprised at how much I learned about both lady Bird Johnson but also LBJ from this book.......more

Goodreads review by Susan O

I don't usually rate books with 1 or 2 stars, because I don't usually finish books I don't like and don't feel it is fair to rate them if I don't finish them. In this case, however, I wanted the information about Lady Bird Johnson in preparation for reading Robert Caro's biography of LBJ. That being......more

Goodreads review by Jason

This biographical work concerning Lady Bird Johnson provides an overview of her life as a child, congressional wife, and First Lady. It is, however, at best an overview of most of these. It is unfortunate that Russell chooses instead to focus on Mrs. Johnson's ability to "look past" LBJ's well docum......more